Banda
by Velyoukai Redux
Summary: The world will not remain in stasis forever. Uryuu Ryuunosuke killed a happy family and summoned a Servant from their blood. Time and time again, that event served as the catalyst to start the Fourth Holy Grail War. In one world, however, that bloody sacrifice resulted in the summoning of Caster, but to a far different outcome.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own any of the Fate series.

_Fill..._

Sunlight streamed through a window to wash over a small bed. It crept from the foot of the bed up to the head, where a groan from the young boy beneath the covers tried to defend himself with a pillow. The groan turned into grumbling as the pillow proved too late in defending the boy's sleep against the sun, bleary eyes blinking to fight off the sunlight's attack like window shutters.

Kishinami Hisei slowly lifted himself up and tossed the covers away with a childish huff. He sat in his bed, glaring at his window for a minute with a dazed scowl before pulling himself out and onto his feet. More grumbling continued to sound throughout the quiet morning as the boy walked out of his room towards the bathroom to wash his face.

After splashing cold water on his face and rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out, Hisei started to gradually shift from his sleepy scowl to a more excited grin. It was going to be a great day because Haruka-nee had promised that she would take him to the park if he didn't bother her all week. It'd been hard, especially when she'd totally tuned out everything around her to focus on her book, but he'd behaved and stopped himself from interrupting her the whole time, which meant...

"The park, the park!" Hisei sang to himself as he smiled at his reflection in the mirror. His own brown eyes looked just as excited as he felt and he could see just how wide his grin really was. He quickly brushed his teeth and rushed back to his room to get dressed, shucking his pajamas away for a pair of jeans and a blue hoodie, then darted out and down the stairs to the kitchen.

_Fill..._

"Morning!" Hisei called out as he slid into his seat next to his sister's. A grunt from the half-asleep Haruka by his side and a nod from behind the newspaper across the table greeted him back.

"Good morning, Hisei." His mother smiled at him as she placed a plate of breakfast down in front of him. "Are you excited to spend today with your sister?"

"Yep!" Hisei grinned and jabbed at Haruka's side, earning him a swat to the back of the head and a scowl from his sister. "Ow!"

"Don't push it, brat. Don't make me regret agreeing to take you out, either."

"Kaa-san!" Hisei whined, only to receive another swat to the head, courtesy of his mother. Haruka's equal grunt from his side made it clear that she'd gotten one, too.

"Both of you settle down and eat your breakfast." The kind smile had turned just slightly higher at the ends, a sure sign there'd be another smack if they didn't listen and eat up. "Don't call your brother a brat, Haruka."

Hisei started to grin into his food at his sister's resigned look, only to have his mother's eyes turn their steel towards him as well. "As for you, Hisei; don't pester your sister so early if you still want her to take you to the park."

He gulped and turned back to his food, quickly shoving rice and vegetables in his mouth to escape his mother's glare. Kaa-san could be really scary when she wanted to, and from how the newspaper across the table hadn't moved even once yet, Tou-san clearly wasn't going to get himself involved.

_Besides,_ Hisei grinned again, already forgetting about bothering Haruka-nee due to his excitement for going to the park taking over. _The faster we finish our breakfast, the sooner we can leave and go out!_

"Thanks for the food!"

With that in mind, Hisei tore into his breakfast faster than before, scarfing it down like his last meal, while Haruka rolled her eyes and ate at her own pace. Across the table, his mother and father settled in for their own breakfast as well, making small talk and pointedly ignoring their son's terrible eating habits.

"Done!"

His bowl abandoned on the table, Hisei swung in his chair to impatiently stare at Haruka's bowl, which was stubbornly still half-full. He glowered at it. If it wouldn't finish itself fast enough, he'd just have to make it want to get eaten faster on his own.

_Be eaten...Be eaten...Be eaten!_

Instead of food disappearing, however, there came a sigh from his sister. "What are you trying to do, Hisei?"

"Your food isn't going away fast enough!" Hisei declared with a serious frown. "I'm helping by making it to want to be eaten faster. That way we can go to the park faster, too!"

Haruka-nee frowned at him, which wasn't fair at all. She was the one who wasn't eating her breakfast, even when he tried to help her go faster! "...Fine, let's just get going."

Hisei blinked, but quickly started smiling. "Really?! Do you mean it?"

"Yeah, you won't leave me alone otherwise, and you'd probably just turn my breakfast into a stomach ache with all your staring." Haruka huffed, already getting up. She grabbed her dishes as well as Hisei's and set them by the sink. "We'll just come back for lunch."

Hisei cheered, leaping out of his seat and darting over to get his shoes. He couldn't believe that she was really being so nice, even if she kept complaining like she always did. Maybe leaving her alone when she was studying wasn't such a bad thing if it meant her being nicer all the time.

_I guess I'll stop hiding her books._ Hisei laced his shoes and stood up, grabbing his bag and slipping both arms through the straps. Bouncing on his heels, he peered back into the kitchen with an impatient grin. _Well, if she ever hurries up!_

"Yeah, yeah, alright, you little brat." His sister strode past him to the door, flashing him a small grin as she passed. "Let's just get going already before I change my mind. Fuyuki Park, right?"

"Right!" Hisei cheered, rushing past Haruka to open the door. "Hurry up! Let's go, let's go!"

"Be careful and have a good time." Their mother called out, waving from beside the living, breathing newspaper that was her husband. "Come back safely."

"Later," Haruka waved, only for Hisei to drag her by the hand out the door.

"Come on!"

_Fill 'em up~_

_Lunch, lunch, lunch!_ Hisei chanted in his head, holding onto the hand of the nice Nii-san walking him home.

Today had been as awesome as he'd hoped for, even if Haruka-nee had ditched him after getting upset over a little game. He'd run ahead of Haruka-nee once they arrived, getting her to chase him for a little bit before she realized he was making a game out of it. She'd howled and called him a brat again before storming off. Hisei would've been more worried, but he knew she'd come back eventually, so he played tag and hide and seek with some of the other kids instead. It was his park day, after all, and he wasn't going to let Haruka-nee being a grump ruin his championship hiding!

Only, Haruka-nee hadn't come looking for him. Sure, he was a great hider, but Haruka-nee was his big sister! There'd been no sign of her, even after he looked all over the park. He knew she'd gotten all grumpy over the chase he'd lead her on earlier, but how could she just ditch him over a game?

_Hmph, who cares about Haruka-nee!_ Hisei huffed, doing his best to ignore the ache in his chest. His hand tightened its grip on Ryu-nii's as he sped up, starting to pull his guide along the sidewalk. _Just wait until Kaa-san finds out what she did. Then she'll be sorry!_

At least somebody had been nice enough to help him out at the park. Hisei looked back and smiled at Ryu-nii, who returned the smile easily. Ryu-nii was really nice. He'd walked up to Hisei just as he'd been about to give up and had offered him some candy and a person to talk to. Even better, once he'd heard Hisei's story, Ryu-nii had showed him a cool magic trick and offered to help him get home and, best of all, promised to side with him when he told his parents how Haruka-nee had just left him alone! Even if Ryu-nii did dress a little weird, Hisei liked how cool the older boy was.

"Here we are, Ryu-nii!" Hisei darted up to the door, beaming with relief and satisfaction at having gotten home. Once he introduced his helper to his parents, Haruka-nee was going to be in so much trouble! "I bet they'll let you stay for lunch. Will you?"

"Sure thing, Hisei-kun." Even Ryu-nii's smile was cool, Hisei decided. "Though, I hope they don't get too worked up, you know?"

"Um, don't worry! I'm sure they'll be fine." Hisei knocked on the door, mentally grumbling at his sister again. _Stupid Haruka-nee had the key, too._ "Kaa-san! Tou-san!"

"Hisei-kun?" The door opened and Hakuno grinned up at his dad, running up to hug the middle-aged man's leg in greeting. His father nodded to him, but gave Ryu-nii a strange look. "Welcome home...where is your sister?"

"Hmph! Who knows...She ditched me at the park." Hisei muttered. He pulled away from his father's leg and smiled up, choosing to ignore Haruka in favor of something way more important. "But Ryu-nii found me and walked me home, Tou-san! Can he stay for lunch, please? He's really cool! You gotta see his magic trick!"

"Ah..." Hisei's father signed and rubbed the top of Hisei's head, ruffling his son's hair despite the boy's complaints. "I suppose it's the least we can do to thank you...ah?" He pulled Hisei inside and stood to the side, gesturing towards the young man outside the door. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name?"

"Oh, sorry about that." Ryu-nii flashed Hisei and his father a cool grin, holding out his hand to shake the older man's. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kishinami-san."

"The name's Uryuu Ryuunosuke. I'll be in your care."

_Fill!_

"Um...repeat _four_ times? Wait, was it five?"

Uryuu Ryuunosuke paused and lifted his blood-stained toe from the ornate circle he had drawn on the floor. Fill, fill, fill and fill was four times, but four wasn't the coolest number when it came to gambling. Then again, summoning a demon wasn't a normal gamble, either, so maybe it was four? But five sounded right, too...

"Hmm..." Ryuunosuke shrugged and turned around. "Hey, Hisei-kun! Does it say fill four times or fill five? Look for where it mentions destroying each filled part!"

"...your book says five times, Ryu-nii."

"Hah!" Ryuunosuke's foot darted out and swiped another red line across a smaller part of the circle. "I knew it wasn't four times."

Taking in the sight of his latest masterpiece with both hands raised to frame, Ryuunosuke stepped away from the circle and leaned over the back of the nearby two-seater. "Ah, Hisei-kun!" He reached out and wrapped both arms around the shoulders of the child sitting between the unmoving adults on the couch. "Isn't it cool!? We're so close to summoning a real demon, you know?"

"Ah." Hisei blinked, leaning his head back to look up at Ryuunosuke. Really, Hisei-kun was his best work yet, a true masterpiece to celebrate the end of his mundane and normal methods of having fun and making art. Once they finished summoning the demon, there'd be so many new ways to explore people's colorful insides! Maybe there'd even be more colors, more vibrant and heart-pounding than the typical human ones!

"...A cool demon, Ryu-nii?"

"Yep!" Ryuunosuke grinned and set his chin on top of Hisei's head. Together, they watched the television as it reported on his most recent works of art. It was kinda sad, really, that he had so many failed attempts before lucky Hisei-kun's family volunteered themselves, but such was the process of a real entertainer and artist! "That's why your parents got to go first, Hisei-kun~ I needed their blood to draw the super cool summoning circle! How can we summon a demon without the right kind of blood for the summoning circle?!"

"Though..." Ryuunosuke shook as his excitement started taking over again. He lifted Hisei up from the couch and swung him around, ignoring as Hisei's legs knocked the bodies of his parents aside. "I have to admit, you're pretty lucky yourself, you know?"

He brought Hisei up and pressed their cheeks together, rubbing his clean skin against the soaked red of Hisei's. "You just looked so cool once I spilled your nee-san's guts over you! Those shining eyes flickering dim like a shooting star! That smooth skin transforming blood-crimson just like an oni!"

And best of all, Hisei-kun turned so helpful after taking his little bloodbath. Just a flick of the scalpel, a beautiful, crimson deluge of intestines and guts, and scared, hyperventilating Hisei-kun transformed like a magical boy into the super cool, super compliant Neo-Hisei-kun!

"It's too bad you're probably going to be eaten by the demon, Hisei-kun..." Ryuunosuke sighed and nuzzled Hisei's cheek. "I know it's silly, but I think I'd have liked having you along for the ride. I'd get to show you so many cool things, like how to slice skin and muscles right from the bone, and the intense redness of guts, and how amazingly shiny fear is in the eyes of little kids~"

"But~ That's just how it is!" Ryuunosuke whirled around a few times, then set Hisei down on the bloody floor to stroll back to his summoning circle. "Sorry, but once the demon arrives, you're going to be a super cool demon snack, Hisei-kun! You don't mind, right?"

"I-"

"Great!" It was too exciting, too amazing! Ryuunosuke could barely contain himself, not when he was about to summon a real demon! Sure, the other families might've been duds, but he had a good feeling about Hisei-kun's family. There was something just _magical_ about them! "I wonder what it's like, being killed by a demon! Not many people get to experience that-What!"

The demon-summoning circle burst to life, and for a moment, Ryuunosuke was blinded.

_-Break-_

He felt numb.

Hisei knew he should also feel other things, like being scared and wanting to get away and cry. The voice, really really quiet, but trying to scream in the back of his head, told him so. It almost sounded like Haruka-nee, but it couldn't be Haruka-nee because Haruka-nee tried to stop Ryu-nii and got cut up by his knife because of it. Ryu-nii's knife went in her throat, and out, and then down to her tummy, making a horrible red line down Haruka-nee that spit blood and Haruka-nee's insides all over him.

That was when Hisei couldn't find a reason to cry anymore, or to feel anything, really.

_"Damn, almost forgot about your Haruka-nee, Hisei-kun! That could've..." Ryu-nii paused in pulling his knife out of Haruka-nee's tummy. "Hisei-kun, aren't you gonna try to run, too?"_

_"...Why, Ryu-nii?" There was no reason to run. Ryu-nii would catch him, and worse, or just the same, really, since he didn't feel horrible and like something terrifying was gnawing at his chest anymore, running wouldn't bring his family back. Crying, running, fighting back; it didn't matter because Ryu-nii would figure something out anyway. "You wanted me to sit put, right?"_

_"Hahahaha! Cool, Hisei-kun!" Ryu-nii's smile was still cool, even when he was tearing a knife out of Haruka-nee. Shouldn't that feel wrong? "That's a cool decision, Hisei-kun. Just for that, you get to help me with the summoning ritual! Lucky!"_

_Ryu-nii went to arrange the couch and Tou-san's recliner, then, leaving Haruka-nee to lay on top of him. Afterwards, Hisei got a piggy-back ride while Ryu-nii rearranged the bodies. Haruka-nee deserved the single seat because her blood and guts transformed him into a super helpful Hisei-kun, Ryu-nii informed him, while he got to sit in between his parents like a good boy while Ryu-nii worked on finishing his masterpiece. _

_As Ryu-nii came back and forth between the circle and the couches, stabbing to get more blood gushing out for his art, Hisei dutifully sat in his place and read Ryu-nii's magic book for him. He sat in silence, save for Ryu-nii's muttered chanting and the sound of his knife tearing through the meat that used to be his family, one hand locked in place to keep his page in Ryu-nii's book._

As Ryu-nii set him down on the floor, Hisei crawled to his feet and stared at Ryu-nii's back with a blank stare. He had to blink once, when some of the blood Ryu-nii had covered him in tried to roll into his eye. The voice, fuzzy and quiet in the back of his head, but screaming, started to get louder, but he still couldn't hear it.

He wished it would go away. It was nice and quiet when he didn't have to hear it.

But Ryu-nii's words kept coming back, too, and each time he said them in his head, they made Haruka-nee's voice scream even louder.

_A demon snack?_ Hisei glanced down at Ryu-nii's book, trying to find out what that meant. Did Ryu-nii want him to make something for the demon to eat? He hadn't ever used the stove before, but Kaa-san always made it look easy before Ryu-nii cut off her hands, so as long as he had his, it shouldn't be too hard, right?

"I-" _guess so._

"Great!" Ryu-nii must've been really excited to meet a demon if he didn't care whether or not he could make anything a demon would like. Maybe demons weren't picky eaters? "I wonder what it's like, being killed by a demon! Not many-"

_What?_

Hisei's eyes widened, then scrunched shut as the Haruka-nee voice in his head screamed and wailed until he had to listen to it. Killed? Killed like Tou-san and Kaa-san and Haruka-nee? But that meant that he would die! And he couldn't die! Not when...

_"Well, Hisei-kun, since you're going to be so helpful, I'm going to trust you!" Ryu-nii always sounded so happy. Maybe he just had to get used to blood to be that happy? "You and your Haruka-nee say your goodbyes while I prepare a bit, alright? Don't be a naughty kid, now, or Ryu-nii will catch you, haha!"_

_With that, Ryu-nii let go of Haruka-nee, dragging his knife out the side of her tummy and spilling more of her insides. Hisei grunted and fell back a bit when Haruka-nee fell forward onto him, but otherwise sat still. Ryu-nii wanted him to behave, and not try to run away, so he would be a good boy. Maybe then, he wouldn't be..._

_"...ei."_

_Hisei looked down at his chest, where Haruka-nee bled out of her throat and front over him. Her lips were moving, but her eyes were all shiny like windows when the sun came out after rain. It had to hurt, Ryu-nii's knife, because she was crying, but he'd been crying before she bled over him, and Ryu-nii never used his knife on him._

_"...sei." He couldn't hear her. Hisei glanced over at Ryu-nii. He was whistling and kicked Tou-san's head out of his way as he shifted the two-seater into place. Hisei leaned closer to Haruka-nee's face. "Hisei?"_

_Hisei didn't talk. Ryu-nii looked busy, and he didn't look scary anymore, and he didn't want to make Ryu-nii change back. He wanted to cry, but he didn't need to anymore, and he liked that more than being scared._

_"Don't..." Haruka-nee choked, and Hisei felt more of her warm blood soak through his shirt and down his sides. She pushed something hard and cold into his sleeve, and gripped his shoulders hard. "...sei! Don...die. Hisei. Hi..."_

_"Don't...die...His-"_

_"Whoops! Time's up!" Ryu-nii yanked hard on Haruka-nee and threw her back on the floor. Her head made a horrible cracking noise on the floor, but Hisei found himself riding on Ryu-nii's shoulders. He looked down, and Ryu-nii looked up with a wide smile. "Ready for the big finish, Hisei-kun? Actually, red's a good look on you, you know? Let's get your folks set up and we can get the show back on the road!"_

Hisei bit his lip and looked over to the two-seater holding his parents. The quiet Haruka-nee voice in his head cried because Tou-san and Kaa-san were dead. Ryu-nii's knife went through Tou-san's neck first, at the kitchen table. When Kaa-san tried to help, Ryu-nii threw her into the family room and stabbed her in the chest. Then when Haruka-nee came home, hours after Ryu-nii had already started using Tou-san and Kaa-san for his masterpiece, Ryu-nii's knife tore through her as well.

_Ryu-nii's knife killed them._ Hisei looked down and slid up his sleeve. The knife Haruka-nee had pressed under his shirt didn't look as powerful as Ryu-nii's. It just looked like one of the kitchen knives Kaa-san used.

He felt numb, like he was only halfway in his body. Like his body and voice acted and his thoughts only caught up seconds later. He couldn't cry anymore for his family, even though he knew he should. It just ached, but not enough to make him cry, and knowing that made him want to cry even more. But even if he couldn't cry, and all that thinking about his family did was make his chest ache...

_"I wonder what it's like, being killed by a demon!"_

_"Don't...die, Hisei."_

He didn't want to die.

Hisei gripped the knife hard with both hands, eyes tearing as he looked from his family to Ryu-nii. He wanted to be good and he wanted to listen, but he didn't want to die! Tou-san and Kaa-san and Haruka-nee couldn't have wanted to die, either, but Ryu-nii and his knife killed them, and Ryu-nii wanted to let a demon kill him, too! Even if he wanted to be good, he wanted to live, and that horrible, scream in his head and the numbness from before were both deafened by that roaring noise.

_I want to live! I don't want to die! I don't want to die..._

Hisei's head pounded with those words, both Haruka-nee's and his own. He lifted the knife and faced Ryu-nii, ignoring the pain in his head and his chest and his hand, as the room filled with a blinding light.

_I don't want to die!_

_-An Existence of its own Existence-_

The Holy Grail's existence was both omniscient and helpless.

It existed with a will; To grant a wish.

Within it was another will, that of Angra Mainyu, Embodiment of All Man's Evils.

Yet, even with these two wills, with its earnest desire to grant a wish in order to fulfill its purpose, and the malicious agony of Angra Mainyu's influence, the Holy Grail could not act on its own. It required a winner of the Holy Grail War, a triumphant whose sacrifices and struggles resulted in the amassed power of seven Servants to empower a miracle.

To facilitate this, the Holy Grail sought to understand those whose wishes it would eventually grant, through the Servant Summoning RItual. Even those who gathered their own catalysts, seeking a specific hero from the Throne of Heroes, was not absolutely guaranteed their choice. The Grail beheld and understood, in its own way, the summoners in a single instant that existed between ritual and summoning. From there it chose, using catalyst and understanding and desires all, to best fit a hero to the summoners who would fight for the Grail to grant their wish.

For Uryuu Ryuunosuke, serial killer and artist, enthusiast for life and death in both hands, the Holy Grail had considered how best to match Servant to Master. Watching the bloody ritual, done time and time again amidst bloodied corpses with the amateur style of an artist who cared more for passion than precision, the Holy Grail believed it understood a proper choice. A murderer for a murderer, a fanatic for a fanatic. Though their passions differed, the enthusiasm and furor that beat in the hearts of both Uryuu Ryuunosuke and the Grail's Servant of choice would clearly match best.

Only...Uryuu Ryuunosuke was not a Master for the Fourth Holy Grail War.

The Holy Grail did not pause, for it understood and chose in an instant who would participate in its war. Uryuu Ryuunosuke was a valid choice, however, the Grail existed to grant a wish, and within an endless moment in its own realm, it heard such a wish.

There was no catalyst. The ritual was poorly done, only made admirable through sheer effort made. The Master barely had any qualifications to tie a Servant to.

However, the Holy Grail would not be daunted, especially when the setting itself beckoned strongly to a hero gathered around the Throne.

A Servant that cut down all in the path of their liege was not needed!

A Servant that twisted the powers that existed for glory was not needed!

A Servant to overwhelm the world was not needed!

A Servant was chosen by the Holy Grail, one that would record a most intriguing war.

And so, as the Holy Grail chose the final Master of the Fourth Holy Grail War, a Servant was summoned.

_-Kishinami Residence-_

The Holy Grail War, ritual and violence and contest bred into one event, all for a prize unparalleled by mankind's desires.

The prize being the Holy Grail itself, a mystery actualized by the most audacious of creators in order to grant its holder a true miracle. To transcend humanity, to defeat Death, to reach the Root. Any wish, any desire born from its holder's heart, the Holy Grail would grant just once.

The magi who fought for the Holy Grail, Masters 'blessed' with three command seals to grant absolute commands to Servants, heroes gathered throughout history and time itself into the Throne of Heroes.

These Masters and Servants, seven pairs of magi and hero, fought one another in order to remain the last ones standing, to obtain the Holy Grail and have their wish granted.

Truly, he couldn't have written a more needlessly contrived story himself, even if he'd known about the world of magi beforehand.

_Fuyuki City, Japan._ Caster mused, feeling his body form from the prana initially granted by the Grail. The connection to his Master was faint, but slowly growing stronger. _The Fourth War, and I am...Caster. How fitting._

Caster, the class for heroic spirits that achieved their goals through means not bound by steel and blood. Those who were priestesses and magi of ancient times, those who delved into the holiest and darkest of arts, those who created with song and word and pen and peace, rather than by the end of the spear. Heroes who were not renowned for their greatness amidst fellow heroes on the battlefield, but for their mysterious and enviable greatness off it, in times of stagnant and depressive peace when the human soul remained surrounded by despair.

Others would have called him pessimistic, while others would decry his words as needlessly harsh, but it was simply the truth. As a Caster, as an author, he would tolerate nothing less than honesty. To lie to the readers would be disgusting illusion all in itself, especially if used simply to mislead away from one's own failures to properly set up the scene.

Such was the stance Caster maintained and upheld throughout his suffering, and that embodiment of his views remained unchanged simply by his existence upon the Throne of Heroes.

The light blinding his surroundings began to fade, leaving only smoke and the foul stench of blood and despair in the air. Caster frowned, but waited for his body to fully form, unwilling to act in haste and lose a proper understanding of the setting he had been summoned to.

As the light disappeared fully, Caster frowned.

A morbid scene of a gluttonous deviant's insatiable desire for satisfaction greeted him. Blood formed the circle beneath his feet, splattered without precision and as though by an overexcited child's hands rather than any artist's brush. The source of the blood was clear; the torn and flayed bodies of three people transformed the banal room to a rotten pit of garbage. Even worse, it was garbage soiled and twisted by a deviant, with more care given to the presentation than to the preparation.

_And at the heart..._ Caster turned from the corpses to his feet, to the end of the summoning circle that had clearly been accepted more from wretched humor than propriety. From the end of his nose, he looked down at the monsters grouped together in a pile on the floor, both covered in blood and reeking of rottenness.

A fair-haired young man, dressed in fine clothing despite lacking shoes, who stared down at his own midsection with fascination. His hands reached up from the floor to press against his own torn-open torso, fingers twisting and wiggling as he played with his own blood. A disgustingly pure expression of delight mixed with longing spread across his face in the form of an ecstatic grin. A purely evil man, intolerable, yet admirable in his simplicity.

At his feet, a blood-drenched child whose hands still tightly clutched the knife buried in the young man's stomach. From hair to face, to body to feet, everything about the child was stained by blood. A shocked child, face twisted with the numbness of a monster and the impassioned intensity of a survivor, whose eyes shone brighter than a star with relief tainted by nothingness. The cursed brand on his hand, a dark, intense red with a glow that stood out even amongst the layers of red that enveloped him, made it clear which monster was to be his.

_Truly,_ Caster sighed, hands at his hips. _Must my lot be so fickle?_

"I am the Servant, Caster, summoned onto this War by the purest will of a monster." Caster stood as tall as his form would allow, which amounted to only so much, when he was perhaps a few inches taller than the child monster. He stared directly at the child, waiting to catch his gaze before continuing.

"I ask of you; are you my Master?"

Banda - Chapter 1

I've had this kinda dancing around in my head for a while now, with sporadic ideas branching across Zero to S/N and even little in betweens and after. Extra CCC really brought the idea to life, though, for reasons that'll probably be pretty obvious. I'll be working on this from time to time, but I tend to be fast to brainstorm, slow to write.

Hope you enjoy it, though! I'll definitely be aiming to reach the finish line, all the way down the line.

Banda Chapter 2: Retreat and Align


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter went through several bouts of being redefined and reimagined, but I finally structured it how I wanted. If I have one regret for this chapter, it's that I was only able to write a single direction for Ryuunosuke. Once his flow started, it simply continued without breaks, forcing its way onto written form. I almost wish I had more time for him, but such is the way of things.

Do not own Fate series, etc.

* * *

Uryuu Ryuunosuke fancied himself a man who strove to uncover the greatest of human sensations. In a world of disappointing fakeness and only teasing shades of really exciting things, he had rejected that boring reality and lived his life honestly and in search of every way he could enjoy himself to the fullest. Bored to disgust at the fakeness of even the most gruesome horror movies as a child, he'd turned to dissecting live animals, strays and wilds from around his family's home, in order to discover what their insides truly looked like.

The vivid redness and warmth of a real body's insides overwhelmingly trumped anything one of those pathetic, boring movies could come up with. The intensity of digging through a living being's still-warm, still-_pumping_ innards with his own hands, first with wild animals and then, later by a stroke of pure luck, with his own Mitoko-nee-san that fated day she slipped and broke her neck out by the storage warehouse on their parents' land...

Ryuunosuke had cut and broken and stretched out plenty of bodies before tonight. His sister's warm, familiar body had taken his first time gently, encouraging him to reach out on his own and broaden his tastes to more than just animals. From then, he'd targeted and stalked and murdered over thirty women, and half as many children along with them, and discovered the beautiful, hidden truth he'd desperately searched for within their bodies. The sense of freedom and the _visceral connection_ to the real value and weight of the lives of his victims was everything he'd hoped for, filling him with inspiration and creativity with each new life he took, regardless of the lethargy and quickly fading rush that came with them once he finished, yet...they left him yearning for more.

To his great joy and shock, however, it was his own gushing warm blood that enlightened him the most.

Splayed across the Kishinami family room floor, Ryuunosuke quickly lost himself in the sensations of his own blood and innards. The demon he so energetically tried to summon was forgotten, as was Hisei-kun, for how could they compare to the amazing warmth-that-scalded-but-cooled that pooled and slid between his fingers like coins? Glistening across his fingertips, a vivid, captivating vision that brought tears to his eyes as years of hidden desperation and quiet hope were finally rewarded with the understanding he'd searched for in so many bodies.

_Everywhere I looked, but the obvious._ Ryuunosuke chuckled, lifting a hand up and watching the red miracle drip from his fingers. It was so beautiful. Even the pain in his side grew more and more numb in the face of the pure redness and warmth of his discovered mystery. _This fleeting wonder...it's so cool!_

The sound of a door slamming shut distracted Ryuunosuke from his euphoria enough for him to look away from his own blood. Across the room, Hisei slowly shuffled back towards the fallen killer's body, his face still blank and compliant as before. The blood coating the boy seemed duller now in comparison to the intensity of Ryuunosuke's own, but he still felt pride when he looked at Hisei. Whereas his own blood was the dream, the bright hope that he had carved through humanity to find, Hisei-kun still represented the culmination of his journey.

"Ah...Hisei-kun?" Ryuunosuke tried to sit up, but his body didn't seem to want to work with what he told it to do. He almost made it to a sitting position before his strength left, dropping him back on the floor with a grunt. _Ow...Oh well._ "What happened to Demon-san?"

Hisei-kun continued over to Ryuunosuke's location quietly, sitting down near the young man's body once he was close enough. "Caster-san said he would go scouting, Ryu-nii."

"Scouting?" What did a demon need to go scouting for? Sure, Fuyuki City was home to a church, but was that such a big deal? "Ca-ugh!" Ooh, his side really did hurt, even though his happiness at the sight of his own blood mostly countered it. Twisting the wrong way, though... "Caster-san?"

Hisei-kun nodded. "Demon-san said to call him Caster. He said I was his master for the war."

Casters and masters and wars? Ryuunosuke paused and hummed a bit in thought. Really, he hadn't expected much out of the ritual, even if it had sparked a new creativity in his methods. That a real demon had actually been summoned was way too cool, but the bit about a war didn't make much sense. _Wouldn't the human be the caster in this, anyway?_

After a moment, though, Ryuunosuke simply mentally shrugged. He couldn't actually shrug, as he had a suspicion it would just lead to another burst of pain, and he didn't really want to explore that sort of thing at the moment. Not when Hisei-kun had just mentioned something super interesting!

"Hisei-kun!" Ryuunosuke raised his voice a bit, seeing that Hisei-kun had just been sitting beside him, staring blankly at the circle he'd drawn earlier for the summoning. When he had the boy's attention, Ryuunosuke continued animatedly. "Yoohoohoo, Hisei-kun. You're-arhg-pretty lucky, you know? Here I thought you'd be a demon snack, but look at you now!"

Hisei-kun tilted his head and looked down at his own shirt, which was stained with as much of his family and Ryuunosuke's own blood as the rest of him. A brief moment passed in silence, before Hisei-kun looked back down at Ryuunosuke with a confused look on his face.

_Aaaah, too cute, Hisei-kun. Way too cool!_ Ryuunosuke laughed and patted Hisei on the head, smearing more blood over the boy's hair. "I mean...here you were about to die, just another sad, boring life snuffed out with nothing to it, you know? But now..." Ryuunosuke's grin grew as the excitement in him as a discoverer of truth rekindled itself. He lifted his hand and pointed it to the ceiling, despite the cough and pain it brought him. "But now you've snatched my life just like I did your folks and nee-chan, and you even got the demon I was trying to summon!"

"That's so cool, Hisei-kun!" Ryuunosuke's grin was as pure as his delight, as though he didn't even care that his almost-victim had pretty much killed him to do what he'd done. In truth, Ryuunosuke couldn't find it in himself to blame Hisei-kun, not when he'd discovered the greatest red truth of all thanks to the kid.

No longer burdened with the despair of living his life and never finding the truth he'd desperately, joyously and despairingly searched for; Hisei-kun had freed him from that possible agony and had delivered him towards the defining epiphany that filled him with pure bliss, and with a knife, no less! To think his greatest work of art would actually be his successor, the one who fulfilled his dreams in a single act of kindness!

Ryuunosuke smiled up at the blank-faced boy again, reaching down to pat his cheek with his hand. "Hisei-kun. Thank you so much!"

Hisei-kun tilted his head in that cute way again, causing Ryuunosuke to laugh.

"I'm thanking you for saving me, you know?" Poor Hisei-kun still looked confused, so he tried to explain a little simpler. It wasn't easy, though; the longer his blood continued to pool beneath his hips, the more tired he felt. Still, he wanted to try. "I was so bored, Hisei-kun. Nobody was being honest, nobody would listen to the truth, it was just so sad. I kept searching for the truth, though!"

Passion rising to the point that he felt dizzy, Ryuunosuke reached out and pushed his hand up Hisei-kun's face to rest on his head again. "I cut and cut and spread them all around, Hisei-kun! Each time, I got closer and closer to the truth, but it was never enough!" Tears started falling down his face, blurring his vision even further. Still, he kept staring at Hisei-kun with a focus he'd never felt before. One more thing he could thank Hisei-kun for! "And then I met you, Hisei-kun. I knew you'd change things for me! I felt it when we met in the park, and then we came home and I cut up your Tou-san and your Kaa-san and your Nee-chan, but not you, Hisei-kun!"

It hurt. It hurt, but he had to laugh because the hurt was so good! He hurt because his precious red was spilling, but that was what he'd wanted for so long!

"You're drenched in their red, Hisei-kun. I killed them, but not you, and spread all their live all over you and now you've spread all my life over yourself, too!" Ryuunosuke gasped as his vision danced, blurring Hisei-kun's face into three. _No...Not yet! Just a little longer, me! I have to make sure he knows before..._ He reached into his shirt and yanked hard, pulling his fang-necklace off his neck, then held it out to Hisei-kun. "Take this, Hisei-kun. You gotta have this now, since you killed me."

Ryuunosuke pushed the necklace into Hisei's hands. He let out a shuddering breath and started to giggle. "Ha...Hisei-kun, can you do me a favor?" He didn't wait for the boy to respond; everything was getting darker and dizzier and he just didn't have the time. Salvation was coming in the form of bliss and release, the salvation he'd searched for ever since that movie his mother had watched with him. "I killed plenty of people to find my red, and you've killed me, Hisei-kun. Hehehe...you've become the leopard now! So, Hisei-kun? Don't die, little buddy. You're the leopard now, and you have all my blood and all the red before mine on you now. That's why you're alive, Hisei-kun, so you can't die while still being boring!"

Ryuunosuke's hand dropped from Hisei's face. "Maaaaah...Live an exciting life, Hisei-kun. You gotta, understand? You killed me and made me so happy, so you can't stop here! You and Caster-san, both of you go out there and be super cool, got it?! You're my cool little protoge, so you have to be cool!" Laughing hurt, but it was a dull hurt in the back of his head. He could barely feel the pain anymore, just the beautiful warmth of the redness. It was so beautiful...

"Hehehehe." _Haha, goodbye, Hisei-kun! Goodbye, boring world!_ One last gasp escaped Ryuunosuke's lips. "So cool, hehe..."

A moment passed in silence, then another several minutes followed it. In the quiet of the blood-drenched, disgusting room, Hisei sat by Ryuunosuke's quiet corpse, watching the orange-haired young man with a studious, blank look. He reached over and touched Ryuunosuke's chest, but the young man didn't move.

"...oh." Hisei blinked, but pulled himself to his feet and stood over Ryuunosuke's body. He stared down at the corpse for a moment, then turned around and walked out of the room to the door Caster had left by.

Opening the door, Hisei stared out into the rain that seemed to cover Fuyuki City outside his home. The necklace in his hand shifted slightly as he brought it up and slipped it over his head, then paused. He gave Ryuunosuke and the other bodies in the room a hesitant look, then walked outside into the rain.

* * *

_I'm missing something._

Caster frowned from beneath the umbrella keeping him dry from the rain. A small part of him continued to complain about leaving his little Master behind with that self-satisfied psychopath, but it was ignored the same as the wetness of the ground beneath his feet and the noise in his ears.

There was no point in needlessly worrying about his Master; that dying idiot wouldn't take any action against him. The idiot had been too entranced in his own blood, playing with it between fingers like an urchin would gold coins. Such an entirely fulfilled and remorseless human being wouldn't ruin his own final chapter with something as meaningless and against his rapture as engaging in another murder.

_Though, from the way that hapless man-child treated the other bodies..._

Hmph. So perhaps it hadn't been completely safe leaving his little Master behind with a murderous psychopath like he had. Still, Caster didn't let it bother him. He knew full well that even if the idiot wanted to harm his Master, the strain and weakness of his body from the wound he suffered would barely let him move. More so, Caster had made sure to kick aside both knives out of reach from both the inhabitants of the room he'd been summoned in, just to ensure matters didn't get out of hand.

"Well, no use fretting over it all night." Caster dismissed Uryuu Ryuunosuke from his thoughts and resumed walking down the wet streets. Perhaps because of the rain itself, few people were around, giving him a chance of quiet and peace to consider his situation.

_Pointedly, my little monster of a Master._ Caster frowned to himself, sighing into the night air. _Numb to the world, just passively accepting everything that comes at him, even the Holy Grail War. What a disgustingly pathetic existence. What's the point of your suffering if it's indistinguishable from your happiness!?_

It was even worse than the self-satisfied hedonism of Uryuu Ryuunosuke, a disgusting human being whose desperation and weakness turned him into a murderer who only found satisfaction in the killing, and found only disappointent in the killed. To compare them, whereas Uryuu Ryuunosuke had at least given his everything towards a disgusting and pointless life, Caster's own Kishinami Hisei's life regarded itself as having nothing to give in any direction of life. A foul, twisted life led by someone who committed everything and regretted nothing at least was more respectable, if only the slightest, than any life fueled by apathetic nothingness.

_And yet..._Umbrella rested between his shoulder and neck to keep it steady, Caster's pen carefully began to fill in the first page of the book in his hand. The scowl that had covered his face since realizing the reality of his summoning slowly faded, being replaced with a wry smile. _That base assumption of the value of life...How foolish can a third-rate like myself be to still be charmed by it?_

_Kishinami Hisei, my little nothingness Master._ Caster scoffed and closed his book, both it and his pen fading away in a dim glimmer of prana. Ahead of him, approaching the grand structure of a hotel that stood tallest in the neighborhood, a depressingly obvious trio of figures made their way through the rain. _I will make the world itself acknowledge you, if it will take away your pathetic emptiness._

Decision made, Caster adjusted his umbrella and sped up a bit to catch up to the trio before they entered the hotel.

The first attack of the Fourth Holy Grail War was about to take place.

* * *

"I understand. Thank you for your preparedness, Hiroko-kun. Please, be at the ready and continue your observations."

_Click._

Kotomine Risei, resident priest and preacher for the Fuyuki City Church, flipped his phone shut and quietly slid it into his pocket. While his young friend, Tokiomi, continued the magus tradition of an aversion to using technology, the agents of the Church, Risei included, had simply adapted to the times. The magus community could keep their familiars and constructs, such as the grammaphone residing in the basement of the church, and the Church agents would still make good use of them as needed, but Risei was one of many who fully understood the importance of not being left behind by the times.

The fact that the non-magical community could construct a 'cell phone,' a telephone just as capable of long-range community as any stationary phone, but conveniently sized to fit in his pocket, was proof enough in his eyes.

Humming to himself, Risei opened his umbrella and stepped out into the rain. The lights from the offices of the police station lit the night sky behind him. While not proficient in the magecraft art of hypnosis, agents of the Church were provided with alternative means of ensuring compliance and silence. Hidetaka-san, Fuyuki City's chief of police, had very politely agreed to foster an understanding mentality for the next several weeks, which was all the hesitation the Church's agents needed to ensure the success of their clean-up teams.

_With Hidetaka-san's agreement, the police and emergency response are settled._ Risei huffed and brought his arms closer. Even in his fit shape, the cold, wet air wasn't the most agreeable with his body. He continued down the street, keeping his umbrella tilted to prevent the rain from blowing into his face. _Along with Takakura-san and Fujimura-san, everything now relies on our people to handle themselves professionally and promptly._

A calming thought, given the relative peace of Fuyuki City this time around. Risei had witnessed a far more chaotic and disruptive state of things when he'd moderated over the Third Holy Grail War. Compared to the madness that had threatened to reveal the truth of the world of Magecraft to the mundane world, Risei was far more comfortable with the quiet state of the city now.

_Especially with Kirei involved in this War._ Risei sighed, his breath coming out as a prolonged puff of visible air in the night air. Even now, nearly three years since Kirei's discovery of the Command Seals enabling him to participate in the magical ritual, he remained torn towards his son's involvement. On one hand, proud of his son and eager for the opportunity to ensure the end of the War resulted in Tokiomi's tolerable wish, but on the other...

Risei loved his son, but that love had often been joined hand in hand with a constant worry, one that had only grown more concerned with the death of Claudia. Kirei's wife had been one of few hopes he'd fostered towards his son's happiness. A sincere wish that his poor son, often so closed off and clearly conflicted inside, no matter how well he attempted to hide it on the outside, would have at least some shelter from the hardships of his own heart. Though he remained uncertain to the source of Kirei's frustrations, he knew of their existence and wished to at least ease his pain.

_And with this War, Kirei could die._

Risei forced himself to admit it as he crossed a street. There would be times, even with the collusion he and his son shared with Tokiomi, that Risei would be required to act as the moderator of the war, instead of the father and friend he preferred. The reminder of his responsibilities was cold comfort for the fears in his heart. _That Kirei would die before finding his happiness in the world, leaving poor Caren alone for good..._

"Father Kotomine?"

_A child?_ Risei paused, storing thoughts of his family behind the mask of the priest of the Fuyuki City church. His worries would have to wait until he was in the sanctity of the church, it seemed. He turned around with a warm smile to see a vaguely familiar young boy, peeking at him from behind the corner of the building he'd just passed. _What is he doing out in this weather?_

"Hello, little one." Risei knelt down, keeping his knees from getting too close to the wet pavement. "It's awfully late to be out, wouldn't you agree? Especially in rain like this."

The boy nodded, but didn't move. Neither his body, Risei noted, nor his face seemed to change at all, despite his being soaking wet from the rain. _Worrying..._

"...Are you out here all alone?" Another nod and nothing else. Risei's smile faded slightly as his concern for the child increased. "Why would you be out without your parents?"

"Tou-san told me to find you if there was trouble, Father Kotomine."

_Trouble._ Risei frowned and rose to his feet, but kept his distance from the boy. There was no reason to frighten him. "You must be getting cold from the rain, son. Come around and we can share my umbrella."

Another nod, accompanied by a strange look, but the boy shuffled around the building corner and slowly walked closer.

Without the building blocking the boy, Risei finally put name to face. _Kishinami Hisei._ The son of one of the few families that chose to attend his sermons and followed the faith of the Church. A normally bright-faced and cheerful boy with a sense of mischief and teasing that often had him at ends one day and best friends others with other parishioners' children.

In the dim light of the street lamp, however, that bright face stared blankly at him through layers of dried blood.

"Hisei-kun!" Risei darted forward and dropped to his knees, heedless of the wet pavement in his haste to take hold of Hisei's shoulders. Beneath his hands, the boy's thin arms shook from the cold, wet air. His face remained impassive. "Are you hurt? All this blood-" He checked the boy's front for any signs of injury, to no result as Hisei shook his head. "What in God's name happened, Hisei-kun?"

Mind controlled, but racing with thoughts, Risei slid an arm behind Hisei's knees and lifted the child up. No matter what had happened, Hisei needed to get out of the cold rain before he risked his health any further than already suffered. He didn't appear injured, but injuries did not need to be purely physical to damage one, especially to a child. And with all that blood, even after being partially washed off from the rain...

"Ryu-nii said he was going to summon a demon." Hisei shifted in his grip, turning slightly to hug Risei's shoulder.

Hand on Hisei's back for comfort, Risei's frown grew. As far as he recalled, the Kishinami children consisted only of Hisei and Haruka, the boy's older sister. Through the years the Kishinami family had attended service, there had been no mentions of a boyfriend or a family friend with a name fitting 'Ryu'. "Hisei-kun, who is Ryu-nii?"

"Ryu-nii found me in the park after Haruka-nee left." Unsettling, but it started to paint a clearer picture in his mind. A child abductor? "He wanted to show me something cool."

"I see..." Risei closed his eyes for a moment. The cold, furious anger threatened to break out of his chest, forcing him to school his temper and reign it in. The hand at Hisei's back tensed, but relaxed as the moment passed. "You did very well to escape him, Hisei-kun. Do you know where he took you?"

"Mhm." The quiet confirmation at his ear stoked the anger in his chest, feeding into his thoughts. Once Hisei was safely back with his family, this Ryu-nii would find himself the host to a most concerned, well-intentioned group of well-wishers. It was the least Risei could do to ease the poor boy's suffering.

"Let's get you back home." Risei shifted Hisei in his arms and turned his tight-lipped frown back into a smile for the boy. "I'm sure your family is worried for you, Hisei-kun. They'll be very happy to know you're safe."

"...No they won't."

Risei's eyes widened in shock at the blank response from the boy hanging onto his shoulder. A foreboding thought crept to mind as to why Hisei would say such a thing. _Lord in Heaven, I ask your kindness in this._ "Why would you say that, Hisei-kun?"

The boy shrugged, looking away from him. His voice remained even and empty. Numb, Risei recognized. "Ryu-nii killed them so he could summon his demon. Ryu-nii said I was gonna be a snack for his demon, so he didn't kill me." A stunned silence was shared between the two of them, before Hisei frowned and looked down at Risei's shoulder. "...I didn't wanna die. Ryu-nii said I did a good thing. He thanked me. He wanted me and Caster-san to do something cool, too."

_...It couldn't be._ Thank the Lord for so many years to control his emotions. Risei schooled his face back into a somber expression fitting for a local priest, to hide the exasperation and disbelief inside. _Caster-san? There was talk of summoning a demon, but I hoped it to be just the mad ramblings of a murderer. Could the Grail have really approved such a thing?_

News reports from several weeks flashed through his head, each of them detailing an unknown, but horrific serial killer who had murdered entire families and left disturbing images painted in the blood of his victims. With no real traces of magecraft or even suggestions of the art, Risei and the Church had left the matter to the police to handle, but if what he'd learned from Hisei's brief explanation was correct...

"...Hisei-kun?" The boy looked up. He seemed a little shocked through the numbness at the smile back on Risei's face. "In that case, would you like to come back to the Church with me? We'll get you dried off and into some warm clothes, with some warm food, while we figure out what to do. Is that alright with you?"

"Alright, Father Kotomine." Hisei nodded.

Risei nodded back and adjusted his umbrella so it covered both of them adequately. "Then let's be on our way. The sooner we get out of this rain, the better."

Walking down the street again, Risei pulled out his phone and redialed the number he had just been on barely ten minutes ago.

_Hiroko-kun, I hope your team is as prepared as you claimed. It seems our first task for the War has come._

* * *

So there's chapter 2. Already working on writing chapter 3, seeing as it has the last 1/3 of my original chapter 2 in it.

Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Kirei honestly took so long to write, it's a damn shame. I'm wondering if I shouldn't include the countdown from the LNs in the setting breaks.

**Banda  
**

_Kishinami Residence  
_

The stench of blood and death had already reached the front door by the time Kaniwari Hiroko and her team arrived at the Kishinami address.

For not the first time since receiving the second call from Father Risei, Hiroko grit her teeth at the thought of what awaited them. _An escaped child. A murderer trying to summon demons. Magecraft. _The picture Father Risei's quiet, furious voice painted hadn't been pleasant and the potency of the smell coming from past the front door suggested it would be even worse inside.

"Be ready. We don't know what'll be waiting for us inside." Hiroko ordered. Shuffling and the faint glimmer of metal answered her. "Let's go."

The door opened easily at her touch, quietly swinging open compared to the splashing hum of the rain outside. _Please have been so stupid, you sick bastard_.

Two by two, the clean-up squad moved in, keeping shoulder to shoulder and keeping eyes open for the target Father Risei had made very clear would not be brought in for questioning. The hallway was clear, clean even aside from a pair of bloody footprints, with the look of any common entryway for a house in Fuyuki City.

"Found him, Kaniwari-san," someone behind her muttered. "Looks like somebody else already got the chance to fuck him up."

Only Motoharu would sound so disappointed at losing the chance to rough up a heretic, but walking back into the room Motoharu and his much calmer partner grimly stared into, Hiroko found it easy to sympathize with the young investigator's want for retribution.

The floor was coated in blood, largely in the form of the obvious magecraft circle off to the side with a fashionably-dressed young man's body next to it, and a few smears and traces of blood trails throughout the room. One trail led from a wall near the middle of the room to a two-seater chair occupied by a young girl with her throat slit and front sliced open, as well as what likely had been the girl's mother. A third body, male, probably the father, sat in the room's recliner with a posture that mocked a normal person watching the muted television.

The man's head stared at them from a few feet away on the floor.

"Fuckin' bastard!" Motoharu whirled around and lashed out at the young man's body by the circle. He kicked the corpse twice in the side before his partner grabbed him from behind and pulled him back by his shoulders.

"Shut it, Haru!" Yuki hissed in his ear. "Do you _want_ Edward to freak out the neighbors? Keep your voice down."

"But look at him!" Motoharu hissed back, at least finally remembering the importance of staying quiet. "The bastard's still smiling after all this!"

Hiroko grunted, wondering once again why the Church had approved Motoharu's transfer when they knew the Holy Grail War would be happening again. For all of Motoharu's passion and connections with the Fuyuki City police, connections that made it easier for them to do their business without worrying about mundane interruptions, the young man's sense of justice was too explosive. One of these days, it was going to get all of them in trouble and she'd bet a blessed bullet it was going to happen during the War.

"Yuki, Motoharu." Both turned to her, obedient even if worked up. "Go check upstairs for any other signs of magecraft. Bring everything you find back down."

Hiroko waited for both agents to reach the stairs before she turned back to the remaining three in the room with her. "Tozo, Yamaniki, check the rest of this floor. Same as upstairs."

Yamaniki yawned, but nodded, following the stone-faced Tozo out of the room and back into the entryway they'd come in from. She watched them leave for a moment, then turned back to the corpses in the room and Inoue.

"Motoharu-kun wasn't wrong, Chief." Hiroko let Inoue talk. The old man had been on the team longer than anyone else, including Hiroko herself. He'd survived what had eliminated four team leaders prior to her and still never retired, so she'd take some excess rambling in exchange for the years of experience. "Whoever our murderer here is, he looks very, very content for somebody who bled out."

"Meaning?" Hiroko pressed, gritting her teeth at how _happy_ the dead man looked. Bastard had clearly had his fun with the family before he died and from what she knew about the serial killings that'd been going on for the past few weeks, it hadn't been his first show.

Inoue shrugged, ambling over to one of the smears on a wall. "Not much on its own." He gestured at the wall. "Does this shape look like anything to you?"

"Smaller than any poor soul in here." Hiroko admitted. She nodded over at the teenage girl's body. "Even if it'd been her, splatter makes a full wrap around. She's too tall for it."

"Mm. Risei mentioned another child, didn't he? How old do you suppose that one would be?"

_Maybe I should've let Motoharu kick him more… _Hiroko grit her teeth and exhaled sharply. Top of the splatter came to maybe just above her knees, with barely any clean space between it and where the top of the kid's head would've been. Take in the spray path and the saturation between the floor and walls…

"Couldn't be more than a short ten." At best ten. More likely younger. Hiroko glanced over to the bodies of the family. _Sick fuck._ "Most likely the daughter's blood."

Inoue nodded thoughtfully, equally somber. Turned in tandem with her as Yamaniki shuffled back into the room. Motoharu's subdued stomps followed as the former police officer rejoined them as well.

"Report."

"Tozo's making sure nothing's hidden, but safe to say this floor's clear." Yamaniki sighed, sounding as put out and exhausted as he always did. Only the glint of alertness in his eyes rather than droopy-eyed boredom hinted at his discomfort. "No sigils hidden in drawers, no circles beneath placemats. Just a normal house, other than the mess in here."

"Hn." Hiroko frowned despite what would normally be good news. Or as good of news as they could get, given the massacre. Father Risei's orders had been clear, though. _Search for any and all evidence of the Holy Grail War. I guess the obvious circle in the middle of the damn floor counts._ "Second floor."

"Same as Yamaniki said." Motoharu gruffed, reaching into his coat. "Bedrooms were mostly clean. Yuki's checking the bathroom, but doubt anything's there, either. Best we found was this, Kaniwari-san." He handed her a thin, almost homemade-looking booklet, untitled. "Seems like a diary of the mother's. Found it in a hidden hole in a nightstand. I marked a page near the start you might want to take a look at."

"Mm." Hiroko opened the diary to the pages divided by a thin cross necklace, which she gently pocketed, then started reading. If the diary had been the mother's, as it seemed from the accounts on the pages, then the surviving child at least deserved something of their family's.

Once she finished, she looked up from the page and shared a grim look with the rest of her team. "Finish up and regroup once you're done. Motoharu, call your contact in the police. Once we finish our clean-up, this will be their mess."

Nodding to Inoue, Hiroko reached into her jacket and pulled out a small phone. "I have to contact Father Risei."

_Tohsaka Manor_

"I understand, Father. Goodbye." Closing and pocketing his phone, Kotomine Kirei stared ahead with an empty expression. The plush, decorated office of his master and secret ally, filled with various trinkets and tools of magecraft, typically soured his mood more so than usual. It proved no different this night. "Caster has been summoned, Tokiomi-sensei."

Tohsaka Tokiomi, head of the Tohsaka family of magi, smiled into his glass in response. "Oh? Risei-san can confirm it?"

"Yes. The spirit board confirmed the summoning approximately fifty minutes ago." Kirei paused. As usual, Tohsaka Tokiomi's absolute confidence remained unshakable. Not even lifting his eyes from the papers in one hand, sipping wine from the other, despite the confirmation of the War's true beginning. Such was Tohsaka Tokiomi to have so little care for the finer details. "Father also mentioned another matter for your consideration."

At Tokiomi's nod, he continued. "Father reports that the participation of Caster and its Master may be in our favor." Kirei subdued the satisfaction he felt at the abrupt loss of Tokiomi's indifference. Indeed, the look of surprise at something completely unexpected was most unfitting for Tohsaka Tokiomi, which made it all the more appreciable. "Currently, the Master of Caster is with Father at the church."

"Alone with Risei-san? Why in God's name would a magus consent to taking refuge within the church without the loss of their Servant?" Tokiomi set down his glass and paperwork on his desk with a frown, still not looking at Kirei. While it could be taken as annoyingly dismissive, Kirei had endured such behavior from Tokiomi for the past three years. It would take far more to even produce a tone beyond indifference from the former Executor.

"Kirei-kun." Tokiomi turned to eye his apprentice. "Did Risei-san mention anything about this new Master? Anything as to why he would feel secure in so confidently making such a statement, especially with a Caster's Master accompanying him?"

His father had, in fact, made no such mentions to back up the surety and calmness in his voice over the phone. Still, Kirei did not need anything so blatant to read between the lines of what his father had admitted. While not as crucial as the mind-numbing training in the martial arts and the learning of wielding the Black Keys, a sense of intuition and reading the mood was an important skill for any former Executor.

"No, he did not." Kirei shrugged, taking another moment of quiet satisfaction at the expression on his master's face. "However, Father did claim that 'Hisei-kun' was still in some form of shock from the summoning and the situation of his Servant in general—"

"Meaning that the summoning was unexpected?" Tokiomi continued with a deeper frown of dissatisfaction rather than surprise. He reclaimed his glass and sipped from his wine, taking advantage of the silence between them to think. "Could it be that the Grail had so few of quality stock to choose from that it simply bestowed the right of being a Master onto a common person, one ignorant of magecraft?"

"Is such a thing possible?" Kirei asked with a sliver of genuine interest.

Tokiomi sighed. In Kirei's opinion, the face of a man well put-upon and suffering unnecessary troubles fit well on Tohsaka Tokiomi. It was a much better fit than the completely assured confidence that most often served as his teacher's expression.

"Rarely, Kirei-kun. Though the Grail has only surfaced three times before, records for each of the Wars have been maintained between my family as well as the other two as a means of improving our respective strategies." Tokiomi swirled his glass, looking up from it to Kirei with a sudden, confident smile. "When circumstances have proven ill-boding for the right conditions to enable a worthy Master of attaining their wish, the Grail _has_ 'filled the ranks,' so to speak, that the War may begin."

"You, yourself, would be such a Master, Kirei-kun, as we are both aware." Tokiomi chuckled, raising his glass to Kirei in acknowledgement. "In fact, the Grail itself must be smiling upon the Tohsaka line."

Tokiomi rose from his chair, setting his glass on his desk and reaching out to place both of his hands on Kirei's shoulders. "The Grail has clearly predicted my victory, for it to have blessed me with a truly dutiful and worthy apprentice as the Master of Assassin. To have not only granted me your aid, but also the fortune for the Master of Caster to be brought into the fold by the Kotomine family; it can only be fate calling for the success of the Tohsaka family."

Kirei pointedly ignored the flicker of annoyance in his thoughts. "Is it wise to assume Caster's obedience in advance?"

"Risei-san would not have brought a Master with him if he lacked confidence in turning them to our cause, Kirei-kun." Tokiomi's smile was chiding, but warm, as he released Kirei's shoulders and returned to his seat. "Still, on the off chance that Caster should disagree, I suppose it wouldn't hurt for you to provide proper incentive."

The warmth in Tokiomi's smile faded, replacing the face of his teacher with that of the magus. "Assassin's worth should prove itself if either Caster or its Master should foolishly attempt to refuse our gracious offer, don't you agree, Kirei-kun? When you return, I will have more information on the other Masters for your reconnaissance."

"As you say, Tokiomi-sensei." Kirei replied with a bow, recognizing the order for what it was. He turned and left the office, quietly closing the door behind him.

Even though the clouds from the rain storm passing through Fuyuki City prevented any moonlight from revealing Kirei's form, he kept away from the windows lining the furnished hallway. The noise from the weather outside served as a brief distraction from his own thoughts, allowing him to stalk through the halls of the Tohsaka Manor without dwelling on his teacher's attitude until he reached the door to the foyer.

_Even with the assurance of Archer's supposed power, overconfidence leads to foolish mistakes. _Kirei frowned back down the hallway, hand gripping the door knob loosely. Another surge of annoyance refused to be subdued, souring his thoughts.

"So the Master of Archer would bring another Master to sit at his table?"

Kirei calmly glanced to the shadows next to the last window in the hallway, where a white mask shaped like a skull stared back at him. The mask moved forward, revealing the blackened body of Kirei's own Servant, Assassin, who approached to join Kirei at his side.

"Tohsaka Tokiomi must feel very assured of his victory." The wraith murmured lowly, bowing his head in greeting to Kirei. "That would be the second threat allowed to reach so close to his throat."

"We are no threat to Tokiomi-sensei, Assassin." Kirei frowned, leveling his Servant with a stern glare. The hand that held the doorknob gripped tighter, the presence of his Command Seals rising to the forefront of Kirei's mind. "It is our task to assist Tokiomi-sensei and Archer in reaching the Grail. You claimed that you would cooperate with me to achieve that goal. Have you changed your loyalties?"

"Serving the Tohsaka is not what was claimed, Master. It was agreed that _you_ are the one found worthy of following, regardless of your own loyalties." Assassin bowed again, holding hand across chest with open palm. Despite the show of submission, however, Kirei's guard and stern stare failed to relent in the slightest. "For as long as you choose to aid the Tohsaka, the shadows will follow. Your choice does not change that you are still a threat to the Master of Archer, Master."

"...Explain, Assassin."

The dark figure's hands rose in a helpless shrug as he gestured towards Kirei's right hand, where the Command Seals hid in the darkness. "A Master is a Master. It does not matter whether you devote yourself to the Tohsaka's success or their demise; your very existence as the Master of Assassin is in conflict with that of the Master of Archer."

Kirei tensed as a new surge of restlessness stirred from within. Unlike the irritation from Tokiomi's seemingly limitless confidence earlier, this unease swirled in his chest and agitated his thoughts. "How so? I have been commanded to serve Tokiomi-sensei so that he may obtain the Grail and spend it on his harmless wish. I perceive no reason to go against such a path. Why would I betray Tokiomi-sensei in your eyes, Assassin?"

Assassin let the silence of the abandoned house still between them for a moment. After the brief pause, the Servant lifted his masked gaze from the floor and peered up at Kirei's face. "Master, I have never considered you to betray the Tohsaka. I am speaking simply of your nature."

Assassin ignored the sudden tenseness in Kirei's form and continued. "A man can reach out to bring close a scorpion for many reasons. If the scorpion stings him, it is not the fault of the man or the scorpion. It is simply in the scorpion's nature to string when it is approached so closely. A Master's reasons are their own in this war, as well. Your loyalty is inconsequential; it is the nature of Masters to conflict with other Masters."

The hallway fell quiet again, save for the sound of rain hitting glass, as Kirei processed Assassin's words. Trapped in the darkness of the almost empty Tohsaka Manor, Kirei turned his eyes to the red carpet beneath his feet. The agitation in his chest had only grown with Assassin's words and the Servant's mention of his nature dragged thoughts back to the surface that Kirei had hoped to leave behind him during the war for the Grail.

As the awkward quiet continued, Assassin approached Kirei, bowing his head and holding hand to shoulder again. "Shall we leave a scout here, Master?"

"...No." Kirei stared into Assassin's mask with a firm resolve. Regardless of his anxieties, Kirei's orders were to remain at Tohsaka Tokiomi's side and ensure the magus' victory of the war for the Grail. _I have no need for uncertainties. I need only to work towards Tokiomi-sensei's plan._ "There is no need. Archer is sufficient enough protection. We will ascertain the willingness of Caster and its Master, as instructed, Assassin."

The blackened Servant nodded with a submissive bow. "As you command, Master."

As Assassin retreated back into the shadows, body disappearing, followed by the white skull mask, Kirei glanced out the window that Assassin had appeared near. The rain outside fell from dark, twisting clouds that hid away the moonlight, leaving the Tohsaka Manor seemingly abandoned save for the lights coming from Tokiomi's study.

With the majority of the Tohsaka servants and staff dismissed for the duration of the war, in order to prevent their involvement in any conflicts that would take place in the building, the Manor came across as lifeless. Even Aoi and Rin, Tokiomi's wife and remaining daughter, had been sent away to a distant relative's outside Fuyuki for their own protection. The lack of Aoi's occasional gentle hums and Rin's abrasive way of treating him only reinforced the emptiness of the building and Kirei's own descending thoughts.

Turning the doorknob in his hand, Kirei stalked through the shadows of the Tohsaka Manor, quietly determined to leave the cage-like building as soon as possible.

_Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel_

Kayneth glared out his window down at the soaked streets, one hand held to his temples to ward off the headache his latest irritation had caused. The one consolation in his sight was that the form of that coward's Servant was nowhere to be seen. Lancer had at least managed to chase away that meddlesome weakling in good time, even if the knight had been so quick to show leniency for the other Servant.

_"__I, Caster, present myself before the Master of Lancer in order to give this message."_ The words that continued to fuel his headache slithered through his thoughts again. Just the sound of that Caster's voice in Kayneth's ears had been enough for him to grit his teeth in frustration. The very cheek of such an offer, and from a Servant with so loose a tongue that it would have been speared on Lancer's weapon had Kayneth not held to his merciful nature! _"As my Master is contemptibly weak, to the point of uselessness, the Master of Caster officially surrenders to any other Masters should they meet on the battlefield."_

"To shame himself before the War has even started." Kayneth fumed, resting his free hand on the glass window. "What manner of pride-forsaking magus would present such an obvious feint to an opponent? Did that wretch think himself clever, sending his own Servant to deliver such a message?!"

He glared at his own reflection in the glass for a moment, then leaned back with a sigh before returning to his chair. The matter of Caster's coward of a Master was not worth the loss of face for a _true_ magus such as himself, no matter how much the sheer gall annoyed him. It was unbecoming for one such as Lord El-Melloi to let his composure be undone by a trifling insult, but the shallow arrogance he'd witnessed since arriving in Japan had slowly worn away at his patience.

_Even now, this faux glamour and facade of a sophisticated culture serves to annoy_. Kayneth frowned at the state of his room. It was well-decorated, emulating a top class suite from any of the upper echelons of hotels found around Europe, and yet, it was that very mimicry of his homeland's tastes that irritated him all the more. _I suppose I can't be surprised that a nation willing to hide its own, inferior culture under the mask of its betters would be home to cowards unwilling to honor the status of a magus._

"I see that you've calmed down some, Kayneth." The familiar voice of his fiance turned Kayneth's attention towards the room's entrance. Sola-Ui calmly entered, followed by the solemn form of Lancer, as she reassigned the few minor wards and alarms Kayneth had set up in his angered haste.

As Sola-Ui continued her work on warding their suite, Kayneth allowed himself to relax and simply watch her work. Whereas his prowess with the flow of prana was regarded as excellence due to his skill and nature as a prodigy, it was a secret enjoyment of his to witness Sola-Ui's own use of magecraft. Her skills with wards ran parallel to his own, weaving and crossing patterns through rigid, unyielding structures rather than the beautiful arrays within arrays that his own wards employed.

The quiet affirmation of a field of seclusion followed by a field of warning eased the ache in his head to a dull murmur, bringing a soft smile to his lips. Lancer quietly resumed spirit form and hovered behind Kayneth's chair as an ever-ready guardian, while Sola-Ui finished her work and moved to join him in the main sitting area.

"I will leave the rest of the floor to your design, Lord El-Melloi." Sola-Ui took her seat next to Kayneth's. "While you do so, I will begin gathering information through my familiars."

"Of course, Sola-Ui." Kayneth removed his hand from his temples, as with Sola-Ui's familiar presence and the security of proper magecraft in place, his headache had finally calmed. Once several more security measures were put in place, with fields set to house the presences and domains of the creatures Sola-Ui's summoning would provide, he would be able to fully relax and prepare himself for the true engagements ahead of them.

"Lancer." The body of the Irish Servant reappeared in a brief glimmer before him on bent knee, head bowed in proper form as a tool should. "You rid the premises of any trace of that impudent Caster, correct?"

Lancer nodded, eyes never rising higher than Kayneth's chest, the Servant's expression hidden. "My lord. Despite Caster's claims of peace, I ensured that no familiars or wards were left in place after his departure. He has left no unwanted presence, I assure you."

"I see. Well done, Lancer."

Ignoring Lancer's stoic reply and Sola-Ui's summoning of her bird familiars, Kayneth attempted to clear his mind of unnecessary thoughts. Sola-Ui's hidden rebuke had been keenly accurate, as her words always seemed. There served no point in allowing his composure to be broken from the barbs of mere nettles when the landscape of the entire forest was within his grasp. Let the weak and feeble-minded such as the Master of Caster employ their shameless tactics as they wished.

The Lord El-Melloi's natural talent and tactical mind would be the victor of the Holy Grail War, regardless of what caliber of opponents he met.


End file.
